Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis

What is Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis?

Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis is a lethal disease which is the latent cause of a person dying of bowel ischemia. A person suffering from this disease will have a medical condition in which his mesenteric veins that perform the task of transporting blood all the way through the intestines are obstructed. This obstruction is caused due to a major clot and this clot is medically known as Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis.

Symptoms and Signs:

The first sign or symptom that one should pay attention to is continuous and sharp abdominal pain which is prolonged and which frequently occurs after having food. Such a prolonged pain which lasts for more than 8 or 10 days in the abdominal areas should not be ignored and should be tested immediately.

A person suffering from Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis will experience diarrhea and this will damage the health of that person due severe loss of body fluid. Diarrhea will weaken the immune system of the person and thus, in case of having this disease, proper medication should be sought.

If the abdominal pain and diarrhea are accompanied by nausea, then one should immediately see a specialist as all these three symptoms are sure signs of Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis. This disease is known to become fatal if proper medical attention is not given at the early stages.

Causes of Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis:

This clot caused due to Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis is fatal as it obstructs blood flow to the intestines. This has serious consequences on the intestines of a person. Over a period of time Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis causes the intestines to swell up and it becomes painful because of the inflammation that is caused due to the damage to the tissues that surround the veins of the intestines.

Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis is also caused due to many other medical conditions which generally have rigorous effects on the person’s body and these other diseases are Appendicitis, Cancer, Pancreatitis and also Cirrhosis that affects the liver.

The persons who have genetic disorders or conditions in which their blood clots quickly are more susceptible to contracting Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis. This is because this disease causes blood to clot and if the person is already suffering from a disorder that clots the blood quickly then the fatality rate increase many fold.

If the person suffers from Appendicitis then the person has a greater chance of suffering from this disease because during Appendicitis the large intestine swells up which is very painful and distressing.

Cancer will damage the cells that fight against this disorder and hence this disease is bound to get worse. Pancreatitis causes soreness and inflammations to the abdominal area and specifically to the Pancreas which result in the prolonged abdominal pain.

Treatment and Prevention of Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis:

The only way to prevent this disease is treating it at an early stage as the late prognosis of this may lead to severe damage to the intestines which can have fatal consequences. In case of severe abdominal pain that lasts for more than a week the person should visit a specialist. Ignoring the symptoms of the disease and delaying the treatment will further endanger the person and the mortality rate will increase.

If the abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea persist then one should immediately undergo a CT scan to detect the problem and to confirm if the person is suffering from Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis. Leading specialists usually recommend CT scans and some other tests such as Angiograms which inspect any presence of any irregularity in the flow of blood that flows through the intestines.

Doctors also recommend MRI scans and the use of ultrasound that helps to detect any potential damage to the abdominal areas and mesenteric veins. These scans are necessary to see the extent of damage caused to the intestines.

The first step of treatment used by a specialist is the use of a liquid known as Heparin which acts as a thinner of the blood that is clot. And in case of emergency, this medicine is given directly to the part where the blood clot has taken place. The heparin is a strong thinner which thins the blood and clears the veins which restores the blood flow.

In cases where the Heparin doesn’t have any outcome, then the doctors immediately perform a surgery to remove the clot directly and this type of surgery to remove the clot is known as Thrombectomy.